


Ruffled Feathers

by Komatsu



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bravely Second Spoilers, F/M, Ringabel is a peacock, minor ones but they're there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 22:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komatsu/pseuds/Komatsu
Summary: After Ringabel returns, Edea soon realizes that it seems like he really doesn't like Yew, of all people.  At first, she chalks it up to some weird battle of the nerds, where Ringabel felt that his title of champion of the nerds was in jeopardy, but he assures her that isn’t the case. And to prove it, he'll plan a double-date with Yew and Magnolia.Does contain minor Bravely Second spoilers!





	Ruffled Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> You can check out my tumblr @ hanatomame for more information.

Soon after her long lost beloved returned from the various worlds he’d been running around, Edea realized that it seemed he really didn’t like Yew, of all people. He was always very quiet when the other man was around, which was an oddity in and of itself, but she’d seen Ringabel’s jaw tense up more than once during the various meetings with Yew and Magnolia, his right-hand woman (and girlfriend).

At first, she’d chalked it up to some weird battle of the nerds, where Ringabel felt that his title of champion of the nerds was in jeopardy (Yew, after all, with his six star schooling record and little reading glasses, was a seriously strong contender). However, when she had told Ringabel that he was still her favorite nerd, he’d given her only an odd look, then changed the topic before he could explain what was really bothering him.

Finally, after Ringabel declined an offer to go to dinner at the Geneolgia residence, she finally confronted him.

“What’s up with you?” she asked, a bit irritated that they might miss out on a good meal. She didn’t know yet if Magnolia or Alfred were cooking, but either way it was guaranteed to be delicious, and she really wanted to go. “Why don’t you like him?”

Ringabel stared at her, clearly not expecting her outburst. He had been finishing a report, but now he set down his quill on the desk so that he could swivel in his chair and fully face her. “Who’s him?”

“Yew!” she replied, hands on her hips. “You’ve been avoiding him.”

“Not at all,” her fiance said stiffly. “If you really wish to go to dinner there, then we’ll go. You only had to say as much.”

“This isn’t about dinner.” It was mostly about dinner, but not entirely. “You don’t like to spend time around him. I can tell, you know. What’s wrong? I thought we promised to be honest with each other, Ringabel.”

Ringabel’s ears were turning red, the way they did when he was embarrassed. Or angry. Or both. “It’s not that I don’t like spending time with him. He’s a pleasant man, truly. ”

“Then what is it?”

“Why don’t we have a nice dinner together?” Ringabel replied, clearly trying to dodge the topic. “We’ll go out to your favorite restaurant.”

“ _Ringabel_ ,” she growled, tapping her foot. “Stop being so weird.”

“Everything’s fine,” he yelped, pushing his chair back until it pressed against the desk.

“Prove it. Spend some time with him for once. Get to know him,” she told him. He could start by going to dinner at the mansion, so that she wouldn’t feel weird all by herself.

His face was contorting in a weird expression she wasn’t sure to make of. The two of them stood there in a very long, uncomfortable silence, and she was almost on the verge of snapping when…  "Very well,“ he finally said. "How about the four of us go on a date next weekend?”

“Huh?” Out of all things he could have said, that wasn’t one of them. Then, she probably should have expected it. Ringabel liked to insist they were still in the honeymoon phase sometimes, even though they hadn’t technically been married yet, and he asked her out on dates for fun often. They couldn’t always go, but the thought was there.

“Please,” he pleaded. “I don’t think that I spend enough time with you nowadays, and I certainly don’t spend enough time with him to judge whether or not I like him. I’m sure he’s a perfectly fine man. He’s certainly got a good head on his shoulders. ”

He had to have an ulterior motive, if he was complimenting another man this much. Edea considered. Maybe he was just distracted by his return to this world?

“Alright,” she finally acquiesced. “But to be clear, it’s you and me as a couple, and Yew and Magnolia as another, right? You’re not trying to go on a date with Yew, are you?”

“Edea!”

-

The next weekend, which was the earliest that Edea and Yew had both been able to escape their duties, they all met up in the city of Eternia. It was a relatively nice day, no blizzards in the forecast, with clear skies and only a small chance of snow after dark.

Magnolia, who still claimed to be used to the sub-zero temperatures of the moon, rubbed her arms as the group met outside a restaurant. Ringabel had taken two days to travel to Gathelatio specifically to confer with Yew about their plans for the evening. Edea had been so impressed by the effort, and the fact that he’d talked to Yew long enough to make the plans, that she’d almost accepted it as proof that he didn’t hate the other man, but he’d insisted on going out on the double-date anyway.

“Here, Magnolia,” Yew said, and he stripped off his woolen cloak to wrap it over his girlfriend’s shoulders.

“Ah, thank you, Yew,” Magnolia replied, clutching it tightly around her.

Ringabel was slipping off his jacket as well. Edea gave him an odd look as he draped it over her.

“What’s this for?” she asked, though she clung to it all the same. It was warm, and smelled nicely like him, and if he was giving it up, she’d take it.

His cheeks were flushed. “Just taking care of you, is all,” he said. “You’re dressed awfully skimpily for the weather.” She was dressed very nicely, in a deep blue dress, but the hemline fell to her thighs, though she wore leggings underneath, and the top of the dress cut deep into her cleavage. He thought it was a beautiful dress, but skimpy nonetheless. 

She stomped on his foot. “You shut up!” She pushed past him into the restaurant, and he followed behind whining her name. Magnolia and Yew brought up the rear. As she approached the hostess, Edea glared over her shoulder at her fiance.

Luckily, Ringabel had remembered to put in a reservation, and so he did not need to withstand her glares for very long. As the hostess led the party to the private table he had requested (being the fiance of the Grand Marshal of Eternia had its perks), Edea softened up a bit, reaching for his hand. “You made a good choice.” This place had a great dessert menu.

“It was a joint effort,” Ringabel admitted, though he beamed at her.

The table they had requested wasn’t entirely in a separate room, but instead placed in a small alcove that could be separated off with thick curtains. Hopefully it would afford them some privacy for the evening, as well as a bit of quiet. Edea made to grab her chair when Ringabel stopped her. His cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Why don’t I take your jacket from you. And… push your chair in?” he asked, and Edea saw his eyes flick to the side. Following that glance, she watched as Yew, his jacket now tucked over his arm, push Magnolia’s chair in for her.

“Uh, sure,” Edea agreed, slipping his jacket off his shoulders and sitting down in the chair carefully, tucking her skirt under. Ringabel pushed her chair in for her, getting her close to the table. Almost a little too close. When he turned away to drape his jacket over the back of his own chair, she adjusted, pushing back just a little. She needed to make room for her stomach after all.

Their waiter was arriving with menus and a complimentary bottle of wine. Ringabel glanced at it.

“I’m underage,” Yew admitted, but he was already handing a glass to Magnolia. “You should have some, Magnolia. I’ve heard this is a good brand.”

“I’ll have some too,” Edea decided, reaching for a glass.

“Are you certain that’s wise?” Ringabel asked her, and there was the hint of a grimace on his face. “I remember the last time that you drank, and…”

“No, you don’t,” she replied, and though she frowned at him, there was little bite in her words. Just matter-of-factness. “The last time I drank was for my 21st birthday, and you were still gone.”

Awkward silence reigned over the table. “Oh,” Ringabel said, and he nodded to the waiter to fill his own glass. He had a feeling he would need the drink.

“Well, anyway,” Yew said nervously. “I haven’t been here before. Have you?”

Edea nodded. “We’ve come here before. I used to come all the time with my Mother before she and Father moved. They have a great dessert menu, and their dishes are inspired by all sorts of regions, not just Eternia.”

Magnolia was smiling as she perused the menu. “Ah, I am always surprised by how much variety there is in the food on Luxendarc. On the moon, our food tastes much the same.”

Ringabel thumbed through the menu as he sipped at his wine. “It was one of our favorite parts of the journey, I’d say. Getting to experience first-hand the difficult cultures that we visited. I hadn’t spent much time around them before.”

“That’s right," Yew said. You traveled around when you were still in the military, didn’t you? I envy you. I was stuck in school. Which, don’t get me wrong, I liked school. But the food there was terrible.”

Ringabel looked startled, glancing over at Edea. He’d had no idea that Yew knew so much about his situation. "Ah, I did travel now and then while in the military,” he admitted. “It all depended on where I was stationed, but I was often too busy with work to go out and eat.”

“Oh,” Yew said.“ I see. But you, Edea…? Where were you stationed?”

“I wasn’t,” Edea said cooly. “I was still in the military academy when Alternis became a member of the Council of Six. They kept me home in Eternia. Besides, Father didn’t like the idea of my traveling unless it couldn’t be helped.”

Ringabel hastened to change the topic. “You should try the steak dishes. They flavor them with spices from Ancheim.”

“I think I shall try one of those then,” Magnolia said.  "I do like to spice things up now and then.“ She winked at Yew.

For his part, Yew decided to stay with something safer, a beef stew that was Eternian in both style, flavor, and look, with extra salad on the side. Edea went with two servings of the seafood pasta, and Ringabel chose a large steak with thickly-cut potatoes and asparagus on the side.

"And I’ll take the dessert menu,” Edea said to their waiter as he took the dinner menus from them.

“Isn’t it too early to order dessert?” Ringabel asked wearily. “You’ll get full.”

She shot him a look. “Don’t be silly. I won’t order it until I’m halfway done with the main course. By the time it’s out, I’ll be finished and it will be perfect. No waiting, it won’t melt or get cool too fast. That’s how you’re supposed to do it.”

“Right, of course,” he replied.

Edea rolled her eyes at him. “Have I taught you nothing, Ringabel? Did I not raise you well?”

Ringabel wanted to retort that she hadn’t raised him at all, when Magnolia cut in.

“You raised him, Edea? But you’re so young!”

It was Edea’s turn to flush. “It’s just a figure of speech,” she assured the other woman. “Ringabel and I grew up together, so to speak, but it was my father who did most of the raising.”

“How romantic,” Magnolia was saying now, sighing. “It’s as if you two were destined for one another.”

This was a topic Ringabel could get behind. “I’ve told her the same thing for years,” he said, grinning at Magnolia. “It’s just taken her a while to believe me.”

“Mrgrgr, Ringabel…”

“She must have been a lovely little girl,” Magnolia teased, giggling. “Surely you have stories.”

Oh no, they were not going to tell -

Ringabel nodded. “Yes, I have plenty. Edea was quite precocious and easily bored. Let’s see…”

“We don’t have to hear any now,” Yew interjected, noticing the glare on Edea’s face. “Er, we don’t have to hear any at all!” he clarified when she shot that glare in her direction.

Ringabel didn’t seem to have heard him. “There’s the time that she ran away from home, got lost in the mountains, and ended up in a cave full of bears.”

Edea groaned. This story wasn’t as bad as some he could have chosen, but  _still_. “Ringabel,” she started.

“Bears?” This was Yew, who looked alarmed, his eyes widening. “How did she survive that?”

“Well, as I'm sure you know, bears here tend to sleep most of the year, given the perpetual winter, and there’s only a few months where they’re awake and hunting. So they were in their hibernation period, thankfully. But I went out with the Grand Marshal to locate her.”

To say the least. It had been several people looking for her, really, but Alternis at the time had been convinced that he and the Grand Marshal were the only ones that mattered.

“So we went looking for her in the middle of a storm. After some… difficulty searching, we managed to locate her in a cave,” Ringabel said, noticing the way that she was looking at him. He tugged at his collar. “At first, we thought she had brought furs from Central Command, which would have been quite smart of her. But then we realized the fur was breathing and that meant she had stumbled into a cave full of snow bears. I thought the Grand Marshal would have a heart attack.”

“You didn’t kill them all, did you?” Yew asked, worried. “The Northern Eternia Snow Bear is endangered. There’s a fine and everything.”

Ringabel waved a hand. “We didn’t harm a single one! The Grand Marshal is quite aware of their status, thank you. He’s the one who enforces the fine, after all.”

“Oh, right,” Yew replied, laughing nervously.

“The hardest part was figuring out how to get Edea out of the cave without waking them. You know that if they’re killed by someone defending themselves, the fine _is_ waived, but there’s the logistics of all the paperwork that would have to filed, and then locating unbiased witnesses, and - ”

Edea groaned from where she’d been hiding her face in a hand. “Get to the point, Ringabel!” If they were going to tell this story, she wanted it to be over already.

“Anyway!” Ringabel said hastily, flushing. “It was decided that I could take off my armor and pull her out. I was smaller and less likely to be noticed, and without my armor, there would be no sharp edges to wake the bears.” That was what Braev had said, at least. Ringabel suspected it had more to do with some of the Grand Marshal’s allergies,

“Did it work?”

“No,” Ringabel admitted, cringing. “It almost did, but Edea was also asleep, you see. We knew that she didn’t wake easily, and were too fearful of waking the bears to make too much noise. Braev even attempted to throw snow at her to try and wake her, but she slept through it all. It was as if she was hibernating as well!”

The woman in question sat up straight. “I don’t remember this part! When I woke up wet, I thought the bears had just drooled on me.”

“So, there I was, inching into the pile of bears, shivering and terrified that at any moment one of them would wake up and crush either myself or Edea, who was still asleep right in the middle of the pile. I had just reached her, and grabbed her ankle when my foot slipped and I stepped right on the face of one the bears.”

Yew gasped, clutching his face in his hands. Magnolia also looked enraptured, leaning forward.

Satisfied by their attention, Ringabel continued. “I was horrified, of course. And I thought - ah, this is it! This is how I die! Eaten alive by a bear. But to my surprise, when it woke it merely rolled over, crushing me under its weight. I couldn’t move. Braev couldn’t rescue me. It was then that Edea woke up as well, because the bear had thrown her off when it moved.”

“I still say that was really rude,” Edea commented, shaking her head.

Ringabel grinned at her. “She was not very happy to see her father, and I remember that they spent a while arguing back and forth, forgetting about my impending doom! It was quite distressing.” Alternis had cried, just a little bit.  "And then, just as I thought that I may run out of breath, Edea spotted me and came to the rescue.“ Ringabel batted his eyelashes at his fiance, who merely groaned at him, rolling her eyes.

"Edea did?” Magnolia asked.

“Yes! She lifted the bear off me.”

Yew was glancing back and forth between Edea and Ringabel. “Lifted it? But they weigh at least 500 lbs! That’s impossible for a child, unless Edea…”

“I told you that she was precocious and bold! It was nothing to her.”

“No Yew, I didn’t really lift it,” Edea explained, biting her lip. “I just - I just pushed its torso up enough so that he could wiggle out from underneath. He’d started crying and I thought he was dying! I couldn’t just… you know.”

“I knew you cared, dear,” Ringabel said, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

Edea scowled at him. “If we’re exchanging childhood stories, I have a lot of them to tell, you know.” She downed the rest of her glass of wine and held it out to him for a refill.

He had picked up the bottle just as Magnolia sighed again. “How wonderful it must be to have your history together. Think of the stories you can tell your children!”

Ringabel flinched; the c-word was one he’d avoided saying about Edea as of late. She’d been so stressed with work that it had been the last thing on her mind, and she had gotten very upset at the last person who mentioned it to her. His aim with the bottle went wide, and wine splashed over the edge of the bottle, hitting Edea’s hand and rolling down her arm.

“Ringabel!” Edea gasped, setting the wine down and standing so that gravity kept her dress from getting stained. “Careful!”

“I - I’m sorry,” he replied, grabbing his napkin to help her wipe up the wine all over her arm. Yew passed over his own napkin, eyes wide. Magnolia reached around the edge of the table to help Edea, taking the napkins from both men.

“Why don’t we go to the … the powder room, Edea,” Magnolia suggested.

“Yeah,” Edea agreed, still wiping her arm down. “I need to wash my arm before this gets sticky.” She eyed Ringabel. “Stay there and clean up this mess.” The wine had splashed all over the table as well and was now dripping down the side.

Ringabel sighed and obeyed, trying to mop up what he could with soaked napkins, as Yew flagged down the waiter for a wet cloth to wipe the table with. By the time the girls had returned, the staff had already swapped out their tablecloth out for a fresh, clean one, brought around new napkins and glasses, and Ringabel was still red from the whole mishap. He had avoided looking at Yew the entire time as the staff had busied around cleaning up his mess, even while Yew had thanked them profusely for helping. This wasn’t going the way he planned.

Edea sat down next to him again, hands in her lap. He chanced a look at her dress… it seemed unblemished. So he hadn’t entirely screwed up.

“It’s fine,” she told him sharply when he opened his mouth to apologize.

Their appetizer arrived, and Edea and Yew wasted no time in digging into the bread and dip. Magnolia looked at Ringabel and seemed to take pity on him.

“Was it something I said? About the children?”

Ringabel managed to stop himself from cringing this time, and just shook his head, giving the woman one of his patented smiles. Edea glowered at him with a mouth full of bread. “Not at all, Magnolia. It's just that we haven’t really planned out anything like starting a family or - ”  This was getting a little personal. “What about you and Yew? Haven’t the two of you exchanged stories that you can pass on to your little ones when you start having them?”

Yew looked thoughtful. Magnolia looked down at the table. “Ah, we haven’t,” Yew finally said. “There’s not a lot to tell, and…”

Ringabel could understand the hesitation. He’d heard enough about the Geneolgia family to understand it wasn’t the sort of upbringing that garnered interesting, fun stories. If anything, it was a wonder that Yew had come out as well-adjusted as he had. As far as Magnolia… he knew the moon was grim. Not a lot of good childhood stories to be had there, likely.

He cleared his throat. “I could tell a story about Yew.”

The three of them looked at him suspiciously. Edea narrowed her eyes. “You can? How?!”

“I went to Gathelatio once with the Grand Marshal,” Ringabel informed her. “It was… I think I was around 13 or so. I had just started using the Dark Knight armor, and he wanted to keep an eye on me. It was one of the annual visits to the city to see the leader of the Crystalguard.”

“The leader?” Yew asked, his eyes wide. “Ten years ago, that was my father.”

“Yes,” Ringabel nodded. “Normally we would meet in the Cathedral and stay in a hotel in the city, but this time, Sir Geneolgia invited us to stay with him in his home. He saw me, and mentioned something about having a son who was about my age, and wouldn’t it be nicer for me to stay with children around than in a stuffy hotel?”

Yew’s eyes had taken on a glassy look. “That must have been Denys, then.”

“It was,” Ringabel replied, suddenly regretting his choice of story. He hadn’t been there to witness the act itself, but he knew that the sacrifice of Denys Geneolgia was still a sore spot for Yew. Edea knew it as well, which is why she was now kicking him under the table. “In any case, I met both of the Geneolgia boys. The youngest was little more than a toddler, and… kept crying at the sight of my armor.”

Yew was pulled out of his reminiscing, looking horrified. “I did?” He stared at the curtain of fabric behind Ringabel’s shoulder before burying his face in his hands, groaning. “I did, didn’t I?”

Magnolia giggled at him, rubbing his shoulder. “I don’t blame you, Yew. That armor is awfully frightening, isn’t it?”

“We stayed the few nights with them. The Grand Marshal stayed in his Asterisk armor, but anytime that I knew the smaller boy was going to be around, I had to take my armor off so that he wouldn’t be frightened. I think… I think that your brother appreciated it. I could tell how much he cared for you. Yew.” He could end the story on a positive note, at least.

Yew smiled weakly. “I think I might remember this. The armor is awfully pointy; I think at that time, I thought I might get stuck on it if I got too close, and the helmet reminded me of a monster.” He shuddered. “It reminds me of needles even now.”

“That is so cute,” Magnolia said, giggling. “I’m sure you were an adorable little boy, Yew. I would have liked to see you.”

“I’m sure we can dig out some portraits at home,” Yew offered. “We had new portraits made on our birthdays, and for special events. They’ve just been packed up since… since… Father passed away.”

“Edea keeps her portraits in her room,” Ringabel recalled. “Including the one made just after she was born. You’ve seen it, have you not? Edea was the tiny little baby in it!”

Edea stamped on his foot. “Ringabel, shut up about my baby pictures!”

“Ow,” he grumbled, finally reaching down to rub his foot. “I think they’re cute, alright?” he replied, pouting at her. “You were so small!”

Magnolia laughed uneasily. “We did see the inside of her room, but there wasn’t much time. Perhaps later, Edea?”

“Perhaps never,” Edea groaned, kicking Ringabel one last time for good measure… but because he had lifted his foot up to rub at it, she missed.

“Ow!” Yew yelped. “What did  _I_  do?”

The blonde woman grimaced. “Sorry Yew. I missed.”

“At least she isn’t wearing steel boots today,” Ringabel said to the other man, thankful that someone else was sharing in his pain. Yew nodded his agreement.

Their food arrived then, and Edea wasted no time in making sure it was passed out to the right person who ordered each item. Once all their plates were in front of them, and their glasses were refilled, Edea dug in.

Ringabel chanced a look at Yew. He politely chewing his meal, but watching Magnolia as she started to cut up her steak. As soon as the other woman had taken her first bite of it, Yew asked: “How is it, Magnolia?”

“Oh, it’s _magnifique_!” Magnolia said, smiling at him. “Truly delightful. Would you like to try a piece, Yew?”

“Oh, may I?” Yew beamed at Magnolia, and she placed a piece of the steak on the edge of her plate for him to take.

Ringabel turned to Edea while those two were distracted. “How is it, dear?”

Edea was busy eating, and only gave him a look, clearly asking him why he was trying to distract her when her mouth was otherwise occupied. She ignored the question.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “Edea - ”

“I heard you the first time. You know this is one of my favorite dishes. Why ask now?” Edea said, once she’d swallowed her food down.

Ringabel felt himself flushing, and prayed that Yew and Magnolia were too busy eating to witness this. “Can’t I be interested?” he mumbled, turning back to his own dish. So Edea didn’t like to be pestered while she was eating. He  _knew_  that, and yet…

The rest of their meal passed in relative silence. Magnolia commented on the quality of the food, and asked both Ringabel and Yew questions on the different cuisines around Eternia and the source of some of the ingredients. She was very interested in cooking, Ringabel recalled. Something about the best way to reach a man was through his stomach. Edea, for her part, was too busy eating to participate much in the conversation, except chiming in with her opinion when Yew and Ringabel argued about which dish was best to eat in the middle of winter.

Ringabel thought beef stew was the superior option. Yew much preferred shepherd’s pie.

“Why not both?” Magnolia laughed. “Winter here is certainly long enough that you have plenty of time to choose!”

For dessert, Ringabel opted to keep to his wine while the other three chose desserts. He watched as Yew and Magnolia poured over the dessert menu together. Edea already knew what she wanted - one of everything - and had ordered long before she’d finished her pasta.

“Isn’t this a bit much?” he asked, as she started on the first of the desserts. “All of this can’t be good for you.”

She kicked him under the table. "Don’t say that I’m gaining weight or anything.”

“I didn’t say  _that_ ,” he replied hastily, shooting a glance to Yew and Magnolia. They both shook their heads at him. “It’s just - the sugar itself. Cavities! Stomachache!”

“There isn’t even that much sugar in some of this,” Edea commented, and to his surprise, she hooked some of the chocolate cake onto her fork and held it out to him. “See? Try it.”

Ringabel hesitated. He truly didn’t like sweets, but if she were offering it to him - he couldn’t remember the last time that he had. Who was he to turn it down? Leaning forward, he bit the cake from the edge of her fork.

It was… not sweet at all. Very chocolatey, and somewhat bitter. He chewed thoughtfully, patting his mouth with a napkin.

“How is it?” Magnolia asked him.

“It’s dark chocolate,” he replied. “That’s quite alright.” He still wasn’t a fan of sweets, but dark chocolate was good in its own way and he indulged in it occasionally when he wanted a quick snack.

Edea went back to eating the rest of her cake. “I know you prefer dark chocolate to milk or white. Trust me once in a while.”

“I do trust you!” he pouted. It wasn’t his fault that Edea had a tendency to force him to eat her leftovers so that she wouldn’t gain weight, and that most of those leftovers were sweets. It had led to a large dislike for anything sugary.

“Do you want some of mine?” Yew asked Magnolia, turning his vanilla cheesecake around so she could see the syrupy fruits that were drizzled over one side. “I don’t mind sharing with you.”

“Oh Yew, thank you! You know I love candied fruits!” Magnolia gushed, and she scooped some of the berries up with her spoon, placing them on the side of her cake dish.

Ringabel sighed. He should have ordered dessert just to give it to Edea. Actually - “Can I have a cup of chocolate pudding, please?” he asked the waiter when the man walked past.

“You’re not going to really eat it, are you?” Edea asked as she started on the cup of sherbert that was next in her line up. She was mixing up the fruit and the cream together as she spoke with him.

“I’ll eat some of it,” he insisted, his ears red. But what he hadn’t counted on was how long it would take him to get it, and by the time it was received, Yew and Magnolia both were finished with their desserts, and Edea only had one to go.

Picking up his spoon, he scooped the top layer off and stuck it in his mouth. This… wasn’t so bad. He could eat this by himself, even if he felt awfully full due to the steak and potatoes he’d eaten earlier. Chancing another spoonful, he looked over at his fiance as she finished up the last of her desserts; a whole plate of crepes covered with creme and berries.

“Do you want some of this?” he asked her, pushing his cup of pudding over to her.

Edea looked down at it and made a face. “Please, Ringabel! I’ve already eaten one of those already. I couldn’t possibly eat anymore,” she said, as she cut into the crepe and speared a piece of it, along with some berries, onto her fork. “You bought it, you eat it.”

He should have known. “Very well,” he replied, as though he  _wanted_ to devour the whole thing. “I will.”

To the pudding’s credit, it wasn’t very sweet, and he could eat it with minimal face making. But he was full, and he hated wasted food; a habit ingrained in him from a time when food had been scarce and he never knew when he might be fed again. This meant that he ate slowly, a spoonful every few moments as he waited for his stomach to settle. Meanwhile, Edea polished off her plate of crepes, and Magnolia and Yew sat back to chat amongst themselves.

Finally, Edea reached for his spoon. “I’ll eat it,” she sighed, as though it were a chore. “You shouldn’t order things you won’t eat,” she told him.

Ringabel pushed the cup closer to her - there was just a bit left at the bottom of it. He hadn’t realized how big the serving size would be! “I underestimated it, that’s all.”

Yew smiled at them. “Once you’re done, perhaps we should head off to the play? I think it will be starting soon.”

Ringabel checked his pocketwatch. “Oh, dammit! You’re right. We’ll have to hurry if we don’t want to miss it.”

His fiance waved her hand as she licked the spoon clean. “You two worry too much. You know there’s always advertisements right before the plays. We have plenty of time.”

Magnolia, who had seen only a couple of Luxendarc plays, cocked her head. “Advertisements? But why?”

“To sell stuff. Trust me, we’re not missing much.”

“Still,” Yew said to Edea, frowning a bit. “We’ll have to find our seats. Sir Ringabel, do you know where we’re sitting?”

“I got balcony seats for us,” Ringabel replied, patting his - oh right, his jacket was behind him. He twisted around to dig the tickets out of his jacket pocket. He’d purchased them for all four of them, and had been holding on them. Before leaving Central Command, he had  _triple_ -checked to be sure that he brought the tickets into town. It was the one thing he couldn’t mess up tonight.

To his relief, they were still in their envelope. He passed it over to Yew now. When Edea reached out her hand, he lifted it higher. Yew snatched the envelope from him and hid it behind his back.

“Oh no,” he said, wagging his finger at the blonde woman. “I’ll hold onto these now. Thank you, Sir Ringabel.”

“Anytime,” Ringabel replied, as the waiter came around with the check.

They paid. Or rather, Ringabel paid, though Yew insisted on being the one leaving a very sizeable tip. Then, the four of them trekked back into the snow.

“Here you are, my lady,” Yew said to Magnolia as he once more draped his jacket over shoulders. Ringabel hastened to do the same to Edea, who looked like her dress was a bit too tight, now. She huddled down into the the warmth of his jacket.

“Ugh, I ate too much,” she said to him in a low voice.

“I told you that you would,” he replied back as he hooked his arm into hers and steered in the direction of the theatre hours.

“It was your fault! If you hadn’t ordered that pudding…!”

He shouldn’t have ordered it. Especially not at 20 pg. He sighed. “We’ll be indoors soon and then you can just sit and digest everything.”

At the doorway to the theatre house, where they were a  _few_  minutes late, Yew pulled out the tickets to give them to the doorman. As he looked over them, he yelped.

“These aren’t just balcony seats! This is for a stage box!”

“Oh, is it?” Ringabel asked. He had been to the theatre very sparingly, and had really only purchased the most expensive tickets, just to be sure he could show off.

Edea looked up at him. “How much did you pay for those? Remember that we have a budget, Ringabel!”

“It wasn’t that much more,” he replied, but now he worried. She was right. They did have a budget for their personal expenses, and even combined, they were always careful about how to spend their money, considering each of them had their own habits and hobbies they kept up with. “Anyway, let’s go inside.”

They were escorted up to the stage box, and by the time they arrived, the host of the show was in the front, introducing the story to them.

Magnolia and Edea immediately flocked to the seats in the front.

Yew hung back. “It’s really high, isn’t it?” the younger man said, putting his jacket on the hook by the door. “I…’ve only been in a box seat once.”

Ringabel had never been afraid of heights. That was to be expected, considering his home was a tall, tall tower, and his primary job had been as a skyship pilot. Even after his fall through worlds, hundreds and thousands of feet, he’d never cared. He could admit it was a bit intimidating, especially as the box hung out over the seats below, but it was nothing compared to an airship.

“It’s fine,” he said to the other man now, trying not to smile. It really wasn’t funny that Yew was still afraid of heights, but in a way, it was. “You’re not scared, are you?” Purposefully, Ringabel strode up to where Edea was sitting on the edge of her seat and sat next to her, reaching for her hand.

“We didn’t miss anything,” Edea said to them in a hushed tone. “Who cares about the set-up? It’s all explained in the story anyway.”

Yew slowly inched his way to the seat beside Magnolia, keeping an eye on his feet. “Right. Right.”

“What is it, Yew?” Magnolia asked, turning around in her seat. “You’re going to miss the opening act!”

“I’m coming,” Yew replied, his voice tight and a little squeaky. “No need to worry about me.” He just barely managed to make it to his seat before he threw himself down into it, clutching the plush armrests.

“Shh!” Edea said. “The music is starting.”

Ringabel draped an arm around her as the lights dimmed, the lanterns going out on by one. On stage, the actors were starting the first musical act, singing together in harmony. It was a story about a pair of Celestials, the cowherd and the weaver, and how they came to fall in love.

The girls were heavily vested in the story, both of them clutching the arms of their respective date. Ringabel, who was always interested in romance stories, still found himself somewhat distracted by the way that the light caught on Edea’s face and hair, her eyes shining through the dimness of the theatre. He ran his fingers through her wild hair, taking care not to mess it up too much, but enjoying the contact with her far too much.

At the end of Act 1, the cowherd and the weaver were forcefully separated by their families and by heaven itself in exchange for not doing their duties. Ringabel felt his stomach drop as he heard the cowherd exclaim eternal love to the weaver, and begged her to wait for him.

As the two actors were pulled off the stage, the host came to the forefront again. “We now call for an intermission. In 20 minutes, we ask that you return so we can begin Act 2.”

The lights began to come back on.

Edea stretched. “This is a good story, Ringabel. Good job.” She looked somewhat contemplative.

“Thank you, my dear,” he beamed at her praise.

Magnolia sighed. "Do you think that they’ll see each other again? After all, they’re separated by the Heavens themselves.”

Yew, by now, seemed to have calmed somewhat. “I’m sure they will,” he assured Magnolia. “Even the heavens can’t keep people in love apart. It didn’t stop us, did it?”

Magnolia practically melted, giggling lightly at her beau. “Of course not, Yew. Not even the Heavens, or the Moon!”

Ringabel turned to Edea and opened his mouth to proclaim his love, to thank her for waiting for him as the weaver had waited for the cowherd but she was getting up from her seat now, and tugging on Magnolia’s shoulder. “We should all take a break,” the blonde woman said. “Let’s stretch our legs and go to the powder room, Magnolia. Ringabel and Yew, you too. No interruptions later!”

“That’s a good idea,” Yew said, but he remained in his seat even as the other three headed to the door. “I’ll stay here and save our spots.”

Edea turned to him, her hands on her hips. “What, no. Really! Are you sure you’re going to be able to hold it so long?”

Yew flushed.

Ringabel shook his head. “I’ll deal with him. You go on ahead, Edea and Magnolia.”

With a glance backwards at the two men, the girls left to go powder their noses or whatever it was that women did in the restroom. Ringabel stood near the door, waiting for Yew to unlock his knees and stand up. The younger boy did so, refusing to look out the box. His eyes were trained on the floor.

“You’re still afraid of heights, after all you’ve been through?” Ringabel asked, trying not to laugh, even if he wanted to laugh  _with_  Yew, not at him.

“This and that are different,” Yew argued as he edged toward the door. His hands were gripping the chairs as he went. “I can deal with heights when it’s important. But this - did you really have to get seats so high up, Sir Ringabel?”

Ringabel shrugged. “I wanted to get the best seats in the house!” He’d wanted to impress Edea. He’d also wanted to impress Yew and Magnolia, but causing Yew to be a little scared wasn’t a bad side effect. It wasn’t that he disliked Yew, not at all. But seeing him at less than his best around his fiance was new.

Reaching out once Yew was close enough, Ringabel dragged him out of the box. “We should at least take a walk,” he decided. “And I told Edea I’d keep an eye on you.”

“I’m walking!” Yew yelped as he escaped the small room. He brushed his front down. “A walk would be nice.”

The walk consisted of a small break, and a trip outside to one of the gardens for some fresh air. Ringabel kept a close eye on his watch. It was tempting to come back late, just to see how that would make Yew look, but he knew that if he did, Edea would not be pleased. He’d promised to take responsibility, after all, and he was older. He was also the one with the pocket watch on hand. Yew had left his in his jacket in the box.

When they returned, the girls were already seated once more. Ringabel kept a firm hand on Yew’s arm as he escorted him back to his seat, depositing him next to Magnolia. “Here you are, my lady,” he said to her, bowing slightly. “I’ve delivered your package.”

“Oh, thank you Ringabel,” Magnolia giggled. Edea grinned at him, and he felt his heart accelerate. “It’s so kind of you to look after him.”

Yew got situated on his seat once more. “I’m ready for the next act,” he declared. “Right here. Right now.”

Ringabel took his seat on Edea’s other side, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers. Edea leaned over to nudge her nose against his. “You’re being nice to him,” she said to him, her voice quiet so that the others couldn’t hear. “I’m impressed.”

“I’m nice to everyone,” he protested, his voice just as quiet. “I’m the sweetest man you know.”

“I don’t know about that,” she replied, but there was a smile on her face. “Keep it up, Ringabel.” She squeezed his hand. He wanted to kiss her, but they were in public, and besides - at that moment, the lights began to dim again, and attention was turned back to the stage.

They sat in relative silence as the stage play began to progress.

A quick recap of the first act, and then it cut to the weaver, who had been locked in a tower. She wept for her lost love, cursing the heavens for dividing them. Magnolia began to weep. When Yew noticed, he produced a hanky from his shirt.

“Please don’t cry, Magnolia,” he pleaded, and wrapped an arm around her. Ringabel did the same to Edea, who was decidedly not weeping. She elbowed him in the side.

“It’s just so sad,” Magnolia whispered as the actress sang. “To be kept from the one you love by others. By your own society. Your family.”

“If they truly love each other, they’ll find a way to reunite,” Ringabel murmured. He squeezed Edea’s shoulder, causing her to elbow him again.

“Shh, I haven’t seen this before.”

He hadn’t either. But he kept quiet as the cowherder appeared on stage now, downtrodden and depressed. He plotted of ways to reunite with his wife, with the help of his friends, the only ones who believed in him. Meanwhile, the weaver refused to continue to work, despondent.

Edea rolled her eyes. “You can’t let love get in the way of your duties,” she commented as the girl was approached by her father, the ruler of heaven.

“It’s just romantic, Edea,” Magnolia said, sighing. “Sometimes love is more important than one’s duties!”

Ringabel was torn; to agree with Edea or not to agree with Edea.

“The best solution is to find a way to compromise,” Yew said, leaning in. “Why can’t she have both? They may have neglected their duties when they first met, but surely there’s a way they can still be together.”

“I was just going to say the same,” Ringabel said, frowning. “Love is about compromise to begin with.”

On the stage, the weaver’s father agreed to allow her to visit her husband once a year, if she worked diligently. Overjoyed, she sent a message to her husband, and started a year of work. She sang to herself about the seventh day of the seventh month and the promises that would be kept.

“Oh,” Yew said. “It’s the Star Festival. I’ve heard of this before.”

“Well, shh,” Ringabel replied, though he too, had heard of it. “You’ll spoil the ending.”

“This is a moon legend,” Magnolia said, shocked. “I had thought it was familiar. I didn’t realize it until the date.”

Yew looked surprised. “You have this legend on the moon as well?”

“Yes,” Magnolia said, clapping her hands. “Ours is somewhat different, but we have a legend of two lovers who can only meet once a year. Their names were…” she trailed off, then her eyes widened. “Altair and Vega! No wonder their names rang - sounded so familiar!”

Edea sat up. “Really? There's… no way!”

Yew cupped his chin in his hand. “If that’s true, then… well, we know that Altair’s name was known to the people of the moon and Sagitta both. Perhaps also the name of his wife was known too. And their story became legend.”

A year’s worth of montage was going by, dates flying by with actors that swept across the stage in synchronized dance as the cowherder and weaver performed their duties, waiting for the day they would meet. Ringabel found it very hard to keep up with both the performance and the conversation in front of him, and despite himself, was starting to get frustrated. He knew  _about_  Altair, knew  _about_  Vega, but had not been around for most of the encounters with them, if one could call it that. He couldn’t compare to Yew’s knowledge on the subject, now the group's interactions with the two people in question.

Magnolia sat back in her seat. “That their story would continue to live on, even in this form, long after they have passed… how truly romantic.”

Yew smiled at her. “Maybe in a few years, they’ll be talking about your story too, Magnolia. The beautiful princess from the moon.”

Ringabel wanted to gag. There was only one beautiful princess for him!

On stage, the seventh day of the seventh month had come. The weaver and her love were separated by the river of the stars, with no way for them to cross. They would forever be forced apart by this one final barrier. She began to weep again, along with Magnolia, who clutched her face.

“I can’t watch it!” she cried. “No more sad stories!”

“Magnolia,” Yew said gently, his arm around her. Edea and Ringabel both watched him. “They’ll have a happy ending, just like you like. Just like you and I will have, one day.”

Ringabel wanted to roll his eyes. Edea and he had gotten a happy ending through hard work and a lot of pain, not crying. He knew that Magnolia had worked hard for her happy ending as well, and so had the others, and that he shouldn’t say anything. He wouldn’t say anything, not to her.

It was just - romantic as the story was, sometimes duty came first. Sometimes things had to be fixed by taking action, and not relying on the kindness of others.

“You’d better be sure to work for that happy ending, Yew,” his mouth slipped out. “Or you’ll be no better than the cowherd. Look! She’s doing all the work!”

Yew’s head snapped up, the younger man looking flabbergasted. “W-what?”

The weaver’s cries had attracted a flock of birds - magpies, he thought - that would form the Celestial Bridge to bring the two lovers together. The audience was applauding the special effects, which he had to admit were quite nice.

Ringabel kept going as all their gazes all swept out to the performance. “The young lady had to do all the work. And what did he do? What have you done for her?”

In comparison, he and Edea, they had both -

Edea hit his shoulder with her ever reliable right hook. Gasping, he rubbed his shoulder and turned to her. The blood rushed out of his face.

“ _Ringabel Alternis Dim_ ,” Edea snapped at him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his seat. Ringabel chanced a look at Yew and Magnolia; instead of looking hurt at his words, they looked terrified. For him.

Then, he was dragged out of the room. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I think we need to talk,” Edea was saying as she pulled him down the hallway. He tried to escape her grip, but it was far too strong, and he had no choice but to follow her, face burning as they were stared at by the staff.

Finally, she rounded a corner and spotted an open door. “This will do,” she declared, shoving him into it. Ringabel stumbled into the utility closet, nearly tripping on a bucket on the floor. When Edea closed the door shut, he whirled and pressed himself against the wall to put as much distance between them, hands up.

“Why were you so rude to him just now?” Edea asked, hands on her hips.

“I - I didn’t mean to be rude, really. I just thought…”

“Well, you were rude. Yew’s trying to be nice, Ringabel. I don’t think he has a mean bone in his body. He doesn’t deserve those sorts of comments.”

“You’re right,” he said, frowning. Yew  _was_ a very nice, polite man. He could admit that. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to. But… Ringabel, there’s something else going on. What is it? You’ve been acting strange all night.”

His voice squeaked as he replied, “Nothing’s going on, nothing at all!”

“See? Acting weirder than normal.”

“I am not,” he replied, his face hot. “It’s just - it’s Yew. Yew, I mean. Not you, Edea. Yew as in Yew. Him.”

“Ringabel, please don’t tell me that you feel… I don’t know, threatened by Yew or something!” Edea said, shaking her head as she pulled at his sleeve. “You’re being silly.”

“I’m not threatened,” Ringabel argued, biting his lip. “It’s truly not that.”

“Then tell me! You’ve been… off all evening. I thought we agreed that we’d communicate? We’d talk about our feelings? You promised me! You said you trusted me.”

How was it that Edea knew just where to hit to make him feel bad? Ringabel cringed. “It… isn’t that I don’t trust you, dear. I do. Please believe me. It’s just…”

“It’s just  _what_?”

“It’s just that I want to be - you deserve nothing but the best. Truly. To be happy and healthy and -  _happy_ , and I’ve seen the way you watch Yew treat Magnolia, and - ”

“Hold it,” Edea said sharply, holding her hand up to stop him. “Are you… are you jealous?”

He did not reply, looking down.

“Oh, Ringabel,” Edea said, grasping his wrists. She let out a noise, somewhere between a laugh and a cry. “I watch him because I want to be sure he’s treating her right! Not because I want the same. If I wanted to be in love with a man like Yew, I would have fallen for a man like Yew. But I didn’t. I love  _you_.”

She paused.

“You, as in Ringabel. Not Yew as in - you know!” She mumbled to herself something about names and nicknames, but he was busy staring at her to pay much attention to that.

“I love you too,” he replied, when he thought that he could. Then of course, he too had to add: “I love Edea. Not Yew.”

“Thanks, I was worried for a minute there. Anyway, the point is that I fell in love with Ringabel for the way that he was, with everything that came along with that. Your absence, your devotion to your duties, your…you-ness..” She made a face. “Besides, Yew is cute and all, but his idea of romance is really not my thing.”

“It’s not? You don’t like that sort of romance?”

“No. I mean, dinner and flowers every so often is nice, but do you know what I really want?” She leaned in close to look at his face. “Tell me what I really want, Ringabel.”

This felt like a trap. Ringabel glanced to the side as he answered slowly. “You want a big meal, with a few different desserts, and then to curl up by the fire and relax if it’s been a particularly long day. If not, we’ll do something else that’s fun, like sword exercises.” That sounded about right. She’d been doing that more often as of late.

Edea cocked her head to the side. “Well, I think we can skip the big meal - we’ve both already eaten, after all. But the fireplace sounds nice. Why don’t we go and … cuddle for a little while. We could have some hot cocoa,” she suggested.

“Really?” he asked, surprised. “Right now?”

“Yes, right now,” she insisted, looping her arm in his. “And while we’re cuddling, I want you to tell me everything else that’s been going on through that thick head of yours. For goodness sake, Ringabel. He’s not even a peacock like you. He’s a falcon.”

“Aren’t falcons faster and stronger?”

“The point is that you can’t compare them!” she said, shaking her head.

“I - you have a point.” He had to concede. “But I think you’re forgetting something before we leave.”

“What am I - oh right.”

Edea opened the door, nearly hitting a man standing on the other side. “Sorry, pardon me,” she called, as she dragged Ringabel out of the room and back toward the balcony. Ringabel nodded as he followed her.

The play was already finished, the actors were just now bowing. Yew and Magnolia were still seated, but both of them turned to watch Edea and Ringabel come back in.

“You missed the ending,” Magnolia said. “Is everything alright?” She looked Ringabel over, her eyes cool.

Edea waved a hand. “Everything is fine, Magnolia, thank you. I’m sorry about that; Ringabel and I just needed to talk for a few moments. It’s just as well the play is over; it’s about time for us to be heading home.

Yew stood and held out his hand to help Magnolia up from her seat. Ringabel watched his movements as he offered his coat to his fiance as well. Edea elbowed him in the side.

"Right,” he managed to say when he’d regained his breath, rubbing at his ribs. “I apologize for the outburst earlier. I… truly am… “

"He’s sorry,” Edea finished for him, leaning against his arm. “And he won’t do it again. I guess as punishment, I’m going to make him eat chocolate brownies with me and roast in front of the fire.”

Ringabel grimaced. “Yes, thank you.”

Magnolia stopped in front of them, her red eyes narrowed for a moment before she sighed and nodded, a small smile on her lips. Ringabel had broken out into a sweat. “That sounds romantic, Edea; I do envy you sometimes. I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

Ringabel couldn’t miss the way that Yew glanced at her. He bit his lip and as the girls slipped through the door, grabbed Yew’s arm. The younger man’s eyes widened.

"Give us a moment, dear,” he said to Edea when she and Magnolia turned to look at them. “We’ll be out right behind you.”

He waited until the girls were well out of earshot before turning to Yew and extending a hand. The other man looked somewhat dubious, looking down at Ringabel’s proffered hand.

“I want to apologize again,” Ringabel said firmly. “My comments earlier were out of line. There’s no denying that you care for Magnolia, and that you’ll do what you must for her.”

Yew smiled up at him and took his hand, shaking it firmly. Once he let go, Ringabel tucked it back in a pocket. “I accept your apology, Sir Ringabel. Actually, now that we’re alone - I was really hoping that you and I could get some time to speak privately tonight.”

“… why is that?” Ringabel asked, curious. Their business done, they began to walk out of the room and down the still somewhat crowded hallway to where the girls were waiting in the lobby.

“I need some pointers,” Yew confessed. “Magnolia and I are always doing the same thing, day in and day out, and I think she gets bored. Life on Luxendarc isn’t the same as on the moon. You surely have some ideas for dates and other activities!”

Ringabel grinned. “Yew, I hope you’ve brought your journal! I have plenty of ideas!”

He wasn’t normally one to let go of his secrets, but he’d make an exception in this case and give the falcon some peacock feathers.


End file.
